Weeks turned to months and months to years after Ema’s demise, still the Issong’s constantly remembered the horrible morning that changed the course of their family tree. Thankfully, the pain seemed to subside with each passing year. Even though they still needed some explanation about Emabong’s death, they, however, learnt to accept her passing. Surely they were still aggrieved by government’s lack of concern for their misfortune; notwithstanding, they carried on living with expectations for a brighter future for the family.
Luckily for the Issongs, their hard work had started to pay off. The shanty restaurant they were running had become somewhat successful and they recently rented a shop, nothing fancy though; it was nevertheless a massive step up from what they had started with. They also didn’t have to choke themselves in the one room apartment they used to live in because they had upgraded to a three bedroom house though still in the slum. For the first time since they started having children, the parents had their room, the three boys shared a room and Ini got a room to herself, even though she never slept there because she was afraid to sleep in a room by herself.
Effiong, now eighteen and transformed into a young man, gradually grew into the role and responsibility of the first born child of the family. It wasn’t an easy vacuum to fill, having to help his parents grow the restaurant, cater to his younger ones and also attend to his studies. He had been so angry with Ema for being so zealous, which eventually led to her passing, but now standing in her stead, he understood her craze. What kept him motivated was that things had become better for the family .Not too long ago, the family was so broke that whenever they returned from school while their parents were away doing whatever menial job they could find, Ema would make some concoction to eat from what she could scrape up in the house. Thank God they didn’t have to scrape up garbage for meals anymore. “I wonder what Emabong would have been like if she was still here. She could have possibly gotten married, maybe popped out a kid or two,” Effiong wondered as he bent over, washing dirty dishes in the back of the restaurant. It was a busy afternoon at the restaurant, and clean dishes were running out fast. “I guess it is time we added more dishes, I could have been helping to serve customers faster,” he thought as he lifted the basket full of washed dishes inside and picked up more dirty dishes for washing. Since he completed secondary school a year ago, he had been working full-time at the restaurant, his parents preferred that he continued straight away to the university but he talked them into giving him a year’s break. After much pleading, they agreed to give him a year off studying and it was about to end. His parents had begun chipping in gentle reminders about Uni. No doubt they would miss his service when he left, he had been tremendously helpful, but he had to go to the university, they were not going to saddle him with their responsibility. Effiong, on the other hand, didn’t want to leave his family, his uncle, a university lecturer promised him admission into his university, miles away from home. It scared Effiong how scarce seeing his family would become. In a sense he felt responsible for them, seeing how things had improved, gingered him to work harder so they could continue to grow; he was willing to forfeit progressing with his education for a while so his younger ones could comfortably proceed with theirs.
By late afternoon the influx of customers into the restaurant slowed down, the few customers left had already been served and were eating. It was almost closing time and there was no more food to be sold, so he began clearing the remainder of dirty pots, dishes and other utensils for washing. As they last customer left, Papa locked the front door and helped Mama clear the remaining dishes taking them for washing then they returned inside to clean up the restaurant. They finished sweeping, dusting and mopping inside and went out to carry the washed dishes inside. Effiong had finished washing and followed them, carrying the bigger pots. They locked the back door and settled down to calculate their sales turnover of the day. While papa sorted out the account, Mama and Effiong conversed, soon it led to the big question Effiong didn’t want to hear “Are you set for Uni?” Mama asked. Unable to reply, because he knew they wouldn’t be pleased with his response, Effiong pretended not to hear her and hurried to the restroom. Knowing his mum, he knew she wouldn’t let her question rest in peace; she would come back at him more aggressively, especially with how dodgy he avoided her question. He remained in the restroom, figuring out what to do when his mum called out “Effiong aren’t you done with what you are doing in there, we are about to lock up”. He took his time coming out, but his Mama wasn’t phased out by his time wasting, she continued “I spoke to your uncle this afternoon and he said you haven’t emailed the results that he asked you to, why?”
“Mama, I haven’t had the time to do it,” he replied jitterily.
“You had the whole of Saturday and Sunday off, but you didn’t do it. Time isn’t your excuse boy, you don’t want to go to Uni,” Mama proclaimed.
“Mama, is that such a bad idea?” Effiong asked.
“Boy crazy? you must go to school. You deceived us to give you a year off and I must confess it has been a year well spent but isn’t there more you want to do with your life?
“Mama, I want to stay another year and help”
“That won’t happen, you have to go, and I promise you that you will thank me later”
“I don’t want to go now” Effiong insisted.
“No more on this, email your results to your uncle tomorrow morning before coming to the restaurant” Mama commanded, and stormed out of the restaurant.
“Effiong, take the petrol Jerrycan with you, you will have to queue at the station later to buy fuel for the Generator and my Motorcycle, looks like the fuel scarcity is poised to prevail,” Papa said.
Effiong watched his parents ride off, then he went on his way home, about twenty minutes’ walk. He noticed the line of cars stretch from the entrance of the petrol station with no end in view. “This queue is crazy, not looking forward to joining in,” he mumbled. He strolled lazily thinking about his discussion with his Mum, his was upset because he wasn’t ready to leave them yet, completely lost in thoughts, he didn’t notice a group of young men approaching him, by the time he looked up they had rounded him up. Being well aware of their reputation-the echt bad boys, like most people he would have rather avoided them, better still never cross paths with them, but now that they had, he prayed silently that he parted with them in one piece.
“We are here to see you,” the man in charge said. “You know we usually don’t come out this bright and early, but we’ve been trailing your path for a while now and it is impossible to catch you out when we are out, so we decided to humble ourselves and come to you”.
Getting agitated, Effiong said “Mando, I am just on my way home, I’ve got nothing on me except for the Jerrycan.
The boys laughed. “See, he knows he owes us something.” Mando, the leader of the pack announced and the rest continued laughing.
Effiong stood in their midst fidgeting, with the way they appeared he knew they were not in their correct senses, they were obviously soaked in whatever drugs they often indulged in.
“Your sweet old restaurant there, if you don’t want anything to happen to it, you will pay us weekly stipends from tonight, your tax holiday is over.”
“But I have got nothing to give you” Effiong mumbled.
Mando grabbed his shoulder and said “shh…….. We have watched your family profit from this neighbourhood. It’s time to start paying tax to the boys. Tonight we will be awaiting the first instalment, or maybe you would prefer broken windows?”
“Please No!” Effiong yelped
“You know where to find us and don’t discuss this with anyone,” Mando said, pulling his ear. Effiong nodded in agreement. Mando snapped his fingers and the others followed him.
Effiong arrived home at a quarter to seven. Stressed from the meeting with the boys, he went straight to his room. Ini followed him inside and jumped on his back playfully. “Will you help me with my maths assignment?” she asked as she jumped down. Without a response, he waved her off. “Help me before the electricity is cut,” she persisted. Effiong snapped and screamed “Later”. The twins were shaken by the yell that they rushed into the room to know what was happening. They met Effiong taking off his shirt and Ini standing with tears building up in her eyes. The look on Effiongs face was frightening that without a word they pulled Ini Out and consoled her.
The twins, Bassey and Edo, were fifteen years old and were in the first year of senior secondary school. Ever since Effiong finished secondary school and started working full time in the restaurant, they didn’t have to go there every day after school. They had ample time to concentrate on their school work, they had only a few house chores to do every day and also look after their younger sister Ini, who just turned ten and in primary six preparing for her entrance exams into secondary school. Ini faintly remembered Emabong, she was only six when Ema passed away, she recalled what she looked like through the pictures in the house and could only imagine what her life would have been like if she still had her big sister. Her brothers loved her silly, she was the apple of their eyes, but she sometimes felt choked by all the attention because they always monitored her when she went out to play with her friends and they didn’t like her talking to boys. Otherwise, her brothers were awesome and she loved them to bits.
Effiong woke up minutes past eight pm, not that he caught any sleep. He had been thinking about the boys. He had some money saved up from the tips he received from customers at the restaurant and pocket money his parents gave him weekly. He gathered the money and decided to use it to appease the boys. He went to his father to collect the keys to his motorcycle and some money for fuel. “Will help you when I get back,” he said to Ini as he walked out, but she ignored him .He gave the twins thumbs up and they also gave back in return. “Thank God, his mood has improved,” Bassey sighed and Edo nodded in agreement.
Effiong rode his motorcycle past the array of cars waiting to be served petrol and straight to the front of the station where hundreds of other Bikes were gathered. The entrance was barricaded, but rumours had gone around that the particular station started selling petrol after nine pm, at an illegal rate higher than the usual pump price. He waited until half past nine, still the station didn’t start selling so he switched on his bike and rode off to another station miles away from the slum. Every station he went to had no fuel. At ten-thirty pm he resolved to return home and go out early the next morning to get petrol. As he rode back home, he saw that the station he went to first, had been selling. He scurried his bike off the road and into the station. He rode in-between the cars , straight to the front of the queue, he had never been thankful they didn’t own a car, but that day he was because cars didn’t have the privilege of breaking the line unless the driver was ready for a brawl with other irate car drivers waiting to be served.
Effiong finally got petrol at almost half twelve in the morning. He sped home, forgetting Mando and his threat. He was so tired he knocked out soon as his head touched his pillow. He didn’t have to wake up early the next morning; his Mum had sort of given him the day off. He felt bad his folks would have to get things done on their own that morning, but his mother made it clear that he emailed his credentials to his uncle before he resumed at the restaurant. While the twins prepared for school in the morning, Bassey noticed Effiong’s phone vibrating on the bed, Effiong was deep asleep and didn’t feel it. Bassey ignored its vibration but when he noticed the caller persisted, he picked up the phone and tapped Effiong “Mum is calling you” he said after checking the caller and handed the phone to Effiong. Effiong answered, “We’ve been robbed,” his mother yelled frantically and hung up. He checked the time as he jumped off the bed; it was a quarter past six. He hurriedly put on jeans and T-shirt then he ran to the restaurant. Approaching the restaurant he could tell it had been vandalised because all the windows were wrecked. He ran inside and saw his parents' sweeping pieces of glasses. “Are you ok?” he gasped.
“Yes, we are fine,” Papa answered. “They didn’t get in or take anything, everything is intact”. Mama remained mute distraught at the state of the restaurant.
“Mama, papa go and start cooking I will take care of the cleaning,” Effiong said. Then he forced the brooms out of their hands, and gently nudged them towards the kitchen, glumly they obliged him. “The boys weren’t bluffing, they did as they said they would,” he thought “Damn me for forgetting,” he cursed aloud.
It was a long and hard day, they were overly conscious of the broken windows and since it was the raining season they hoped it didn’t rain. Business went on as usual and at about 3pm, their fears became a reality as the sky turned grey and thick cloud gathered,lightning flashed and the thunder roared, the blew fiercely and blew dust into the restaurant. They were forced to stop serving customers. Papa and Mama decided to head home before the rain came down to be with the younger children and on their way tell the window fixer not to wait until business closes as they had initially agreed, leaving Effiong to handle the situation. Luckily, that day they made just a little under what the repairer asked for as his charge, they gathered that up and had to dip into their savings to balance payment.
Effiong waited behind for the repairer; somehow no one noticed his absent-mindedness throughout the day because his folks had been moody too. He stood by the window and stared outside, hoping the rain would ease and the repairer would appear, he had somewhere to go and with each passing moment, he feared what could go wrong. Yes, he knew who committed the atrocity and with such audacity, could he risk reporting them. If they threatened to break the windows if he defaulted payment and carried it out, then they would as well hurt him if he dared open his mouth to say anything. His attention returned outside and instead of calming the rain came down with increasing ferocity. Not even one car could be seen on the road; he sunk into one of the chairs and covered his face with his palm as the rain began to splash into the restaurant. “Mama and Papa have sweated and bleed to build this, I won’t let those touts destroy it” he exclaimed.
Mama waited home anxiously for Effiong to return. As time passed she became more anxious. The repairer said he was going to fix the windows right away. If he did as he said, surely they should have been done. Reaching Effiong’s voicemail frustrated her, there was no way anyone could go out, not with the intensity of rainfall and flooded roads. Papa came out of the room where he had been resting “Effiong isn’t back yet?” he asked.
“NO!” replied Mama. “And his phone cannot be reached.”
“I think I should go back to the restaurant to check for him,” Papa said.
“It is pitch black out there, still raining and the roads are flooded. Let’s just wait a bit more.” Mama suggested and Papa agreed and relaxed beside her. Fifteen minutes later, Effiong walked in.Ini jumped up and hugged him, she forgot she was mad at him, the twins greeted him enthusiastically, relieved to have him home safe. Papa looked at the time, “It is Eight-fifty pm, what happened?” he questioned Effiong.
“The window fixer came around half six. He said he had to look for fuel for more than two hours under the rain and still didn’t get so he bought from the black market,”Effiong replied.
“What did he need fuel for?” Papa asked.
“For his car and some equipment he had to operate,” Effiong responded.
Didn’t you buy fuel for the generator yesterday? Papa queried
“Yes I did dad, but we didn’t have to use it, the repairer came with his work light” Effiong answered.
“Welcome home son, you got me worried and your number didn’t go through” Mama said.
“Sorry Mum, my battery ran down” Effiong answered, walking to his room, he didn’t want to waste any more time getting probed, he had to go see Mando. The restaurant had received enough damage, there had never been a day they had to shut down the business since they opened, but one encounter with the boys and the business faced a possible second day of not opening due to the rain pouring into the restaurant, “I hope I have the strength to wake up very early to go dry off the water in the restaurant” Effiong said as he put the money for Mando in the front pocket of his jeans.
Effiong chilled until his parents had dozed off on the sitting room couch, the twins were studying on the dining table “I will be back soon,” he whispered as he tiptoed from the room to the back door. As soon as he got out he dashed as fast as he could. The roads were still flooded and littered with waste, pushed out from wherever and floating on the water. He really didn’t care about the state of the roads he just wanted to get to the boys. His family business was in danger and he was responsible for protecting it and that was what he was going to do. He noticed the long queue still at the petrol station, some drivers had even dozed off inside their cars some gathered and lamented the woes of the petrol scarcity. Eventually, he arrived at the domain of Mando and his boys.
Effiong walked cautiously towards the boys, the pungent smell of cannabis penetrating his nostrils. Loud cheering and music boomed in his ear. As they became visible, it appeared some of the girlfriends had come visiting and were sharing their boyfriend’s wrap of weed; a few were smooching seriously not giving a care in the world who might be watching. The atmosphere was threatening, very rowdy “why would anyone want to live like” Effiong thought “I must be crazy to have convinced myself to do this,” then again he thought “This is the only sane way out.”
Effiong braced himself and walked up to the boys, they poked insults at him as he approached them. “Please I want to see Mando” he mumbled.
“Speak out,” one of the guys said, slapping his head.
“Can I see Mando,” he repeated audibly. They parted and let him pass between them, some pushed him with their shoulder and some smacked his head until he got to Mando.
Mando sat down facing him sucking in the smoke from his wrap of weed, nodding his head to the tune of the music. “It’s a lovely evening for a fine wrap of skunk,” Mando said, offering him a fresh wrap and lighter.
“No thanks, I don’t smoke,” Effiong said.
“Hahahahaha” Mando laughed and the others laughed with him. “He said I don’t smoke” Mimicking Effiong.
He got up and moved close to Effiong, The thirty-something year old’s stocky frame frightened Effiong. “Foolish boy,” Mando said with a husky voice, “I left you a message at your restaurant last night; I suppose that’s why you’ve come here”
Effiong nodded his head timidly.
“We were planning to burst into the restaurant and destroy all the properties inside this night and if you still didn’t turn up with our money, and tomorrow we would have burnt the place down.
“I’ve got the money,” Effiong said frantically and brought the money out of his pocket and handed it down to Mando. Mando received it and started counting “I hope his sense is clouded by the weed so he doesn’t hassle me about the amount,” Effiong thought as he watched Mando count the money.Suddenly, a loud band sounded, they looked up a saw a bunch of policemen “Everybody get down” the police shouted “You fool, you set us up” Mando yelled, then another bang sounded, and guns began firing sporadically.
Mama heard the loud bangs and jerked up from sleep to the front door, she locked the burglary proof and then locked the door, and she rushed to the back and did the same. Then she returned to the sitting room “These robbers have started making trouble again,” she said “Children, go to bed. Bassey, come and carry your sister to the room.” She watched them enter the room, “Put off the candle,” she yelled. As soon as they did, she tapped her husband and said: “Papa Ema, let’s go to bed.” He staggered up and walked to the room while she followed him with a lamp. She checked the time and it was almost twelve am. She settled in bed and put off the lamp.
Bassey and Edo could not sleep; they were expecting Effiong to tap on the window for them to open the door. Time ticked away slowly, at three am he still had not returned. Edo, the younger of the twin got weary, he could not handle the suspense any longer and he wanted to go tell their parents, but Bassey begged him to hang on. “I have a bad feeling about this” Edo kept on saying, but Bassey insisted “All is well”. At Five am when their Mother woke up to prepare breakfast, they were still waiting, not even for a second did they shut their eyes so they couldn’t have possibly missed his knock. “What had happened to Effiong? He had never spent the night out”. Thoughts of what may have happened captured the twin’s imagination; they feared for their brother wellbeing and began to comprehend the magnitude of the secret they withheld from their parents. Mama knocked on their door thirty minutes later holding a candle “Bassey, Edo wake up and get ready for school,” she said. Then she tapped Ini “get ready to shower after your brothers,” she said. She noticed Effiong’s empty bed “where is your brother?” she asked the twins. Unable to keep it in any longer Edo confessed, “He went out last night and hasn’t returned.”
“Where?” Mama screamed. They shook their heads because they didn’t know. Papa rushed into the room and asked, “What’s going on?”
“The gun shots, last night, ahh…….” She screamed and rushed towards the room, picked up her phone and started calling. “He is not answering his phone,” she screamed desperately. She tried again a few more times, it rang but same response she got. She ran to the front door, opened it and ran out maniacally, screaming for Effiong.
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